SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Casino.nl has published its second annual “Duty of Care Report”, providing an independent view of the mandatory and voluntary protections offered by legal online gambling operators licensed in the Netherlands.
The study monitored 25 licensed operators for six months (October-to-March 2025) with the aim to provide an “objective evaluation of responsible gambling practices in the Dutch market”.
As the Netherlands leading casino player community, Casino.nl views a legal which sector shows “large variations in protective measures despite widespread basic compliance.”
Rules on duty-of-care and compliance standards are set by the Remote Gambling Act (KOA) the underlining regulatory framework which launched the Netherlands online gambling marketplace in 2021. As stands, KOA sets the framework for online gambling in the Netherlands through requirements for addiction prevention and responsible behaviour promotion alongside risk intervention.
Research observed the 37 legal requirements together with 38 voluntary indicators to analyse the availability of resources as well as how online operators display them to customers during their evaluation.
Insights shows operators fulfil their mandatory requirements but most fail to adopt the meaning behind why voluntary measures have been applied.
Case-in-point, the requisite for websites to display responsible gambling information show inconsistent patterns of visibility according to the research findings. The research showed that half of the websites failed to place responsible gaming resources in easily accessible locations such as homepage top sections.
The mandatory warning message “Wat kost gokken jou? Stop op tijd. 18+” appeared clearly on half of the evaluated websites. The remaining operators positioned their warning message in the fine print thus making it less effective.
All operators provided information on deposit limits, time limits and self-assessment tests, as new mandatory requirements enforced by KOA. However, Casino.nl viewed disparities in how new measures were communicated to customers.
Most platforms did not use visual or interactive tools for risk comparison between different games although such tools could help players make better decisions.
The educational content about gambling addiction remains basic. CRUKS self-exclusion register, and minor protection references appear almost universally while psychological addiction risks such as cognitive decline and suicidal thoughts receive minimal discussion. Intervention protocols, meanwhile, are typically opaque. Most operators track dangerous behaviour but provide no clarity regarding intervention triggers or implementation procedures or threshold criteria.
The research paper discovers several areas where operators demonstrate superior performance.
The operators of Holland Casino and TOTO demonstrate complete fulfilment of all 37 legal requirements. The online gambling platform Hard Rock Casino leads the way through its extensive educational resources and the online gambling websites BetMGM and Bet365 and Tonybet demonstrate strong dedication to warning users about risk factors.
Betcity and Hard Rock stand out from other operators by implementing video content which functions well for delivering responsible gambling messages to users who avoid policy statements. Visual risk matrices as a measure of game addictiveness are used by only a few operators including LeoVegas and Kansino in the industry.
Based on the research findings Casino.nl recommends multiple policy changes within their report. A key suggestion is establishing “standardised risk assessment tools” which need to be implemented across all gaming platforms.
The report advocates for stronger enforcement of the visibility warning messages as well as enhanced communication through multimedia content and user-friendly design features. Real-time behavioural monitoring is identified as an area needing decisive action.
In H2 the The Netherlands’ online gambling landscape is poised for significant reform in 2025, as the House of Representatives (Kamer) have agreed to develop a new regulatory framework to replace KOA.
Minister for Legal Protection, Teun Struycken, has commissioned the Gambling Authority (KSA) to draft the new framework, with a particular focus on curbing the visibility and appeal of unlicensed gambling websites. Central to the initiative is a renewed emphasis on shielding individuals under the age of 24 from gambling-related harm. The revised legislation is expected to be presented to the Kamer by the end of the year.
Casino.nl concludes that operators need a “mindset transformation from basic compliance to genuine player protection commitment”. Operators should work towards a sustainable model requires responsible gambling to move beyond being a marketing remit.
